boys love
Tokyo research company releases its annual report on what’s up and what’s down in Japan’s otaku economy.
English-language short comic attracts the attention of the real-life teen who inspired it.
Perfect for all those parents looking for just the right gift for their fujoshi daughters.
From hugs to piggybacks and intimate kisses, this reference manual is filled with romantic male-on-male love scenarios.
If there was an award for most male-on-male kisses in a mainstream music video, this idol group would take home first prize.
Because fujoshi aren’t the only ones who enjoy watching boys getting it on. Finally, some love for fudanshi!
Male customers can receive same-sex kabe-don with romantic ear-whispering from the staff member of their choice this Valentine’s Day.
Earlier this week, we took a look at Out Division, a boys love online game produced by BLobby, and its unique nipple matching memory game. Even among fans of the genre, people who generally enjoy the visual delight that is dishevelled men, some found the nipple-centric features of Out Division to be slightly disturbing and borderline ridiculous.
But it seems the game maker’s fixation with man nips doesn’t end there: BLobby has announced its participation in this year’s Animate Girl’s Festival, and it has prepared some rather eye-catching merch for the event…
With its pudgy, simplistic character designs and sharp-edged humor dicing up current trends, American animated comedy South Park is about as different from anime as it can be in look and tone. But every now and again the show’s focus swings around to Japanese culture, and the theme of its most recent episode was none other than yaoi/boys’ love, the anime subgenre of male homosexual romance that’s loved by legions of female fans.
So while the episode featured the inane logic of South Park’s citizens and resulting laughs fans expect, it was also filled with anime-style artwork depicting its two male characters who had become the darlings of the city’s amateur artist community.
The international anime fan community has adopted a number of Japanese loanwords for concepts that originated in Japan and don’t have succinct, ideal vocabulary equivalents in other languages. English-language discussions between foreign fans are peppered with terms like otaku (fans whose enthusiasm for their hobby is so strong it affects their life balance), tsundere (a person whose expressions of emotion towards an object of affection run hot and cold), and moe (a feeling of devotion and protectiveness, often in response to a display of innocence or purity), just to name a few.
Now, though, the shoe’s on the other foot, as one woman in Japan with a soft spot for anime showing deep, emotional bonds between male characters is calling for the popularization of an English loanword to help her avoid being mistaken for a fan of homoerotic anime and fan fiction.
Japanese game makers and gamers take their chosen medium of entertainment very seriously, and there are titles out there for just about every conceivable audience, even niche genres such as “BL” (boys love). Although it may seem like the audience for such titles may not be so big, there are numerous BL titles on the market to satisfy the desires of fujoshi gamers.
Even among the many titles, however, one particular game titled Out Division has managed to catch its players unaware with a unique take on the classic memory game. Fancy playing a game of nipple matching, anyone?
This may be a rather random question, but are you capable of drawing a man in various states of undress? Most of us can probably visualize how it should look, but turning those thoughts into illustrations doesn’t always come at a snap of the fingers.
Coming to the rescue of budding illustrators and manga artists is a new pose reference book dedicated solely to men undressing. From T-shirts to kimono to boxer briefs, this is probably the most educational book we’ve seen filled with men stripping off their clothes.
Boys’ Love (BL) is a genre of fiction in Japan, usually taking the form of manga and anime, that depicts men in romantic relationships with one another. These homosexual stories are generally produced by and for women who want to fangirl over impossibly beautiful men getting frisky with each other.
Like with the maid cafes that cater to male otaku in Akihabara, it was only a matter of time until fictional fantasies started spilling over into the real world. My fellow reporter, Evie, and I went to visit a BL cafe near Otome Road in Ikebukuro, an area filled with stores catering to female otaku and fujoshi.
Nowadays there’s a social networking system (SNS) for just about anything. In Japan, aside from the big ones like Facebook and Twitter, the LINE messaging service (and life-LINE service) and Niconico Douga are also extremely popular ways to talk with your friends – both on and offline – about stuff you love.
And that’s just scratching the surface. There’s plenty more, based around every imaginable interest. In fact, pretty much the only kind of SNS that doesn’t exist is one based around posting and sharing erotic anime-style drawings of men loving on each other.
…until now. Meet Horne.
The blue and black (or white and gold to some) dress took the Internet by storm recently, splitting netizens into two major factions: team blue-and-black and team white-and-gold. I, for one, thought it looked somewhat like discolored blue and gold.
While most people were still busy debating with friends over the color of the dress (which has already been revealed, by the way) or getting creeped out by how the dress “changed colors” right in front of their eyes, some creative netizens basically went all “Who cares what color that dress really is, let’s just create a fandom for it!” and created these blue-black-white-gold inspired illustrations!
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Grumpy Man’s Guide to Tokyo Disney: A bitter ex-fan shares his side of the 35th anniversary gala
We try out “instant rice balls”, prepared with water, to see if they’re actually tasty
After six years of waiting, fourth Evangelion Rebuild movie finally gets an official release year
Häagen-Dazs tempts us with first-ever Japanese flavor sorbet and ice cream combo!
This two-second self-check from a Japanese nurse helps you know if you’re in dehydration danger
Mr. Sato goes fishing for compliments with the new Harajuku fashion: A fishing vest?!?
Japanese advertising company selling space on young women’s armpits, recruiting models【Photos】
Japan’s most popular maid cafe, Akiba Zettai Ryoiki, opens new “Maid Cafe Winery” in Akihabara
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Synchronized Shiba siblings spark spontaneous satisfied squeals【Video】
10 girls rushed to hospital for heatstroke after Tokyo high school’s non-air-conditioned assembly
Nearly 70 percent of young Japanese women self-identify as otaku in survey
Gay Japanese Twitter user comes out to family, mother’s response moves Twitter to tears
We interview Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard in Japan
Saying a prayer can open a passage between men’s and women’s baths at this Japanese hot spring
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After over a decade of virtually no social interactions, beautiful Japanese model is winning fans
Foreign student who punched Japanese basketball referee returns to home country, coach suspended
Bitter Colombian soccer fan tries to insult Japan, Japanese fans respond with kindness, and memes
Tatsumasa Murasame: A hunk with Japanese landscaping skills…and Japanese citizenship
U.K. authorities issue warning about anime-style video game Doki Doki Literature Club after death
Cat cafe video shows reaction of felines before, during and after an earthquake in Japan
Ninja bikini goes on sale in Japan, sacrifices stealth for sexy coolness【Photos】
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Japanese dad reimburses wife for six months’ worth of breast milk, moves her to tears
Nutty Swiss otaku gets fired on first day of new job after boss discovers his colorful past
Japanese netizens show love for “English Toast” which is neither English nor Toast
Japanese girls spotted stepping on foreigner outside Shibuya Station in Tokyo
Drinking party breaks out on Tokyo Station platform as Shinkansen delay strands travelers
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Shibuya stylist transforms nerdy-looking man into handsome guy with a trendy makeover【Video】
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Mr. Sato goes fishing for compliments with the new Harajuku fashion: A fishing vest?!?
Japanese advertising company selling space on young women’s armpits, recruiting models【Photos】
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